Several years after entering the NHL, defenceman Drake Berehowsky came of age as a full-time player. A junior phenom with questionable knees, he was a part-time player for several years before finding his niche with the Edmonton Oilers and the expansion Nashville Predators. Over the years his strength has been moving the puck up ice and working the power play.

Berehowsky starred in Junior B with the Barrie Colts before joining the OHL's Kingston Raiders in 1988-89. He showed superior potential but was felled by a serious knee injury in 1989-90 which made a few pro scouts skeptical of his future. The Toronto Maple Leafs remained undeterred and chose the youngster 10th overall at the 1990 Entry Draft.

The rookie was given a look at the start of the 1990-91 season but was quickly returned to junior. He was a force for two seasons on the North Bay Centennials blueline and was named a First-Team All-Star and the CHL Defenceman-of-the-Year in 1992. After scoring 27 points in 28 games for the AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs, Berehowsky was recalled midway through the 1992-93 season. He fit in well as a puck carrying defenceman on Pat Burns' improved defensive squad and scored 19 points in 41 games. His mobility would have been useful in the 1993 playoffs, but he was hurt late in the season.

Since Toronto was fairly deep on the blueline, Berehowsky saw less playing time in 1993-94 and at the start of the next season. In April 1995 Toronto shipped him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for stay-at-home defenceman Grant Jennings. He toiled briefly in the minors until joining the young Edmonton Oilers in 1997-98.

Berehowsky played a more controlled and confident game for the Oilers while supplying an element of grit as well. He was given even greater responsibility after he was claimed by the expansion Nashville Predators in 1998. Berehowsky worked the power-play and helped guide the club's transition game. In 1999-2000 he set career highs with 12 goals and 32 points. His improvement made him a sought after commodity at the 2001 trading deadline. The Predators dealt him to the Vancouver Canucks where he spent the early part of the 2001-02 season before joining the Phoenix Coyotes midway through the season.

After parts of two seasons with the Coyotes, Berehowsky signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2003, his second stint with the club. Upon his arrival with the club, Berehowsky went on to register 21 points (5-16-21) in 47 games before being acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second half of the season for blueliner Ric Jackman.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1987-88

Barrie Colts

ON-Jr.B

40

10

36

46

81

1988-89

Kingston Raiders

OHL

63

7

39

46

85

1988-89

Canada

Nat-Tm

1

0

0

0

0

1989-90

Kingston Frontenacs

OHL

9

3

11

14

28

1990-91

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

8

0

1

1

25

-6

1990-91

Kingston Frontenacs

OHL

13

5

13

18

38

1990-91

North Bay Centennials

OHL

26

7

23

30

51

10

2

7

9

21

1991-92

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

0

1991-92

North Bay Centennials

OHL

62

19

63

82

147

21

7

24

31

22

1991-92

St. John's Maple Leafs

AHL

6

0

5

5

21

1992-93

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

41

4

15

19

61

+1

1992-93

St. John's Maple Leafs

AHL

28

10

17

27

38

1993-94

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

49

2

8

10

63

-3

1993-94

St. John's Maple Leafs

AHL

18

3

12

15

40

1994-95

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

25

0

2

2

15

-10

1994-95

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

4

0

0

0

13

+1

1

0

0

0

0

1995-96

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

+1

1995-96

Cleveland Lumberjacks

IHL

74

6

28

34

141

3

0

3

3

6

1996-97

Carolina Monarchs

AHL

49

2

15

17

55

1996-97

San Antonio Dragons

IHL

16

3

4

7

36

1997-98

Edmonton Oilers

NHL

67

1

6

7

169

+1

12

1

2

3

14

1997-98

Hamilton Bulldogs

AHL

8

2

0

2

21

0

1998-99

Nashville Predators

NHL

74

2

15

17

140

-9

1999-00

Nashville Predators

NHL

79

12

20

32

87

-4

2000-01

Nashville Predators

NHL

66

6

18

24

100

-9

2000-01

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

14

1

1

2

21

0

4

0

0

0

12

2001-02

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

25

1

2

3

18

-5

2001-02

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

32

1

4

5

42

+5

5

0

1

1

4

2002-03

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

7

1

2

3

27

0

2002-03

Springfield Falcons

AHL

2

0

0

0

0

0

2003-04

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

47

5

16

21

50

-16

2003-04

Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL

9

1

2

3

17

+5

2004-05

Skelleftea AIK HK

Sweden-2

18

3

5

8

63

2005-06

San Antonio Rampage

AHL

18

0

1

1

23

-3

2005-06

Eisbaren Berlin

Germany

19

3

12

15

18

11

2

0

2

12

NHL Totals

549

37

112

149

848

22

1

3

4

30

OHL First All-Star Team (1992) Canadian Major Junior Defenseman of the Year (1992)

Traded to Pittsburgh by Toronto for Grant Jennings, April 7, 1995. Signed as a free agent by Edmonton, September 30, 1997. Traded to Nashville by Edmonton with Eric Fichaud and Greg de Vries for Mikhail Shtalenkov and Jim Dowd, October 1, 1998. Traded to Vancouver by Nashville for Atlanta's 2nd round pick (previously acquired, Nashville selected Timofei Shishkanov) in 2001 NHL Draft, March 9, 2001. Traded to Phoenix by Vancouver with Denis Pederson for Todd Warriner, Trevor Letowski, Tyler Bouck and Phoenix's 3rd round pick (later traded back to Phoenix - Phoenix selected Dimitri Pestunov) in 2003 NHL Draft, December 28, 2001. Missed majority of 2002-03 due to knee injury in training camp, September 24, 2002. Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh, August 29, 2003. Traded to Toronto by Pittsburgh for Ric Jackman, February 11, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Skelleftea (Sweden-2), December 22, 2004.